RUSSIA & UKRAINE – Johnson’s Russia List table of contents & links :: JRL 2019-#27 :: Thursday, 21 February 2019

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Johnson’s Russia List :: JRL 2019-#27 :: Thursday, 21 February 2019
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1. Kremlin.ru: Presidential Address to Federal Assembly. (concluding section dealing with foreign policy)
2. Kremlin.ru: Meeting with representatives of Russian news agencies and print media.
3. https://gilbertdoctorow.com: Gilbert Doctorow, Vladimir Putin on national defense in his Annual Address to a joint session of the Russian parliament: threats or a bid to negotiate on arms control? [gilbertdoctorow.com/2019/02/20/vladimir-putin-on-national-defense-in-his-annual-address-to-a-joint-session-of-the-russian-parliament-threats-or-a-bid-to-negotiate-on-arms-control/]
4. Bloomberg: Putin Prepares for New Cold War with Tight Economic Policies. The Russian President has quietly built a financial fortress.
5. www.rt.com: Putin: No need for another Cuban missile crisis over US-Russia dispute.
6. Reuters: Moscow ready to cut time for nuclear strike on U.S. if necessary: Putin.
7. www.rt.com: ‘Who knows what they have in mind?’ Putin says Russia could be cut off from global internet.
8. TASS: Putin offers mortgage benefits and tax incentives to support large families in Russia.
9. Bear Market Brief: Putin promises social aid in state of the nation address.
10. Interfax: Social benefits proposed by president to cost 80 bln rubles in 2019 – Golikova.
11. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Putin Is Finally Ready to Look Homeward. But his plans to improve ordinary Russians’ lot face formidable obstacles of his own making.
12. Book excerpt: Mark Galeotti, We Need to Talk About Putin: How the West Gets Him Wrong. Putin was KGB, but not as you know it.
13. Russian International Affairs Council: How to Stop Corruption: It Should Be Easier to Register than to Bribe. (interview with Dmitry Poletaev, Director at the Center for Migration Studies) [russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/interview/how-to-stop-corruption-it-should-be-easier-to-register-than-to-bribe/]
14. Russia Insider: Homeschooling Is Booming in Russia – Comprehensive Article From a Russian Christian Magazine. [russia-insider.com/en/homeschooling-booming-russia-comprehensive-article-russian-christian-magazine/ri25556]
15. Interfax: Russian Navy’s Tsirkon missiles capable of hitting command posts in U.S. territory – expert.
16. Reuters: Despite Putin’s Swagger, Russia Struggles to Modernize Its Navy.
17. Reuters: FACTBOX – ‘The sanctions bill from hell’ against Russia makes a comeback.
18. Interfax: EU yields to U.S.’, Ukraine’s pressure by means of anti-Russian sanctions over Kerch incident – Lavrov.
19. Wall Street Journal: Russia Exploits U.S.-China Trade Tensions to Sell More Soybeans. Commercial conflict has choked American soy exports to the bean’s biggest market, China, providing Russian farmers an opportunity.
20. Interfax: Putin dissatisfied with how his directives on probes into economic crimes being implemented – Peskov.
21. TASS: Kremlin spokesman believes truth will prevail in Calvey case.
22. www.rt.com: Arrested US investor faces 10 years in Russian prison for major fraud.
23. The Nation: Stephen Cohen, How the Russiagate Investigation Is Sovietizing American Politics. “Collusion,” “contacts,” selective prosecutions, coup plotting, and media taboos recall repressive Soviet practices.
24. Washington Post: Luke Johnson, You might be binge-watching Russian propaganda on Netflix.
25. Al Jazeera: Dmitriy Frolovskiy, How Russia’s domestic divisions could foil its Middle East plans. Growing isolationist sentiments within the Russian political elite could sabotage rapprochement with Saudi Arabia.
26. Russian International Affairs Council: Andrey Kortunov and Michel Duclos, Four Dreadful Scenarios for Tomorrow’s Syria and What We Can Do To Avoid Them. [russiancouncil.ru/en/analytics-and-comments/analytics/four-dreadful-scenarios-for-tomorrow-s-syria-and-what-we-can-do-to-avoid-them/?sphrase_id=25407168]
27. TASS: Ukrainian news outlet sheds light on Poroshenko team’s election bribery plans.
28. Intellinews.com: Ukraine’s presidential elections Q&A with Tim Ash.
29. Bloomberg: Leonid Bershidsky, Eastern Europe Feeds on a Shrinking Ukraine. The anti-immigrant governments of eastern Europe compete for the growing stream of Ukrainian emigre workers.
30. Awful Avalanche: “On the Ground Bandera!” – Brave Cop Splits Ukrainian Society. [awfulavalanche.wordpress.com/2019/02/21/on-the-ground-bandera-brave-cop-splits-ukrainian-society/]